


Little Gems in the Big City

by teamchaosprez



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Empire City, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-15 11:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7219948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamchaosprez/pseuds/teamchaosprez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Well, let's see. If you lived here, you could get a cool apartment, and be a single gem taking on the big city! You could have a fun job at a local coffee shop, come home to a wacky roommate..."</p><p>In which Lapis' peace is disturbed when Steven decides to send Peridot to live with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a lil fic I got the idea for back when Same Old World came out. This is kinda inspired by anushbanush's AU on Tumblr.
> 
> This takes place after "Barn Mates." Lapis tried to live with Peridot there for a little while but it didn't really work out because the barn was just too quiet and secluded for her taste. They did end up becoming friends while there, but Lapis is still mildly irritated by Peridot.

It was a bit difficult to settle in at first, but Lapis Lazuli was really beginning to enjoy her life in Empire City. It was noisy enough to know she wasn’t alone and it reminded her of the city she had once lived in on Homeworld, but at the same time her neighbors and the other citizens always allowed her to have her privacy and rarely bothered her. Working in a nearby cafe, she had seen both the ugly and the beautiful side of humanity’s nature - sometimes a blonde woman with a bad haircut would walk in and criticize her blue coloring and ask why a Gem was in Empire City, but the child inevitably placed on the woman’s hip would always compliment her instead and declare that she was a “pretty lady.” She wasn’t angered in the least by the humans that would be rude to her - in fact, she found it fascinating, watching them go through their day to day lives and seeing how their upbringings had changed them. She supposed that watching and studying people, learning their behaviors and assuming things about their lives without having a conversation with them, was becoming her new favorite hobby. Perhaps a little bit of a creepy one, but it was something to pass the time.

In all honesty, she really didn’t  _ need _ the job - she could pay for her apartment perfectly fine just with scavenging and selling her findings. She mainly just kept it up because it gave her something to pass the time, and because Steven had explained the general aesthetic of city living and she fully intended to keep it. The only thing she was missing was a wacky roommate, and in all honesty, she was okay with skipping that one requirement; Steven was the only one she cared about enough to be willing to live with, and he needed to stay in Beach City with the Crystal Gems anyway. Her apartment was quiet with the exception of the occasional party above her, or the sounds of cars zooming past just out the window. She had fallen into a routine of going to work and coming home, resting and listening to music and slowly coming to terms with the fact that she had her  _ own life _ now. She was not controlled by the Diamonds, or the Crystal Gems, or her mirror, or  **anybody** \- and she loved it. Despite the occasional heavy numbness that would often settle over her chest, she was  _ happy _ in Empire City, or at least at peace - and that was a state that she never expected to fall into again.

Walking home from work was fairly relaxing - there wasn’t much going on in the streets when her shift ended after midnight, so it gave her some time to think. She didn’t have very much to do that night that she knew of - maybe she would send a message to Steven with the computer he gave her, or something like that. She could reach her apartment building fairly easily and automatically, considering she had been following this route for the last two months, and it wasn’t a very long walk across the lobby to the elevator. She was looking forward to another peaceful and quiet night at home, getting rest and thinking on how much her situation had changed recently; considering it prematurely already had a smile reaching her face. She had a home, she was alone but not isolated, she had a routine and she could control her life and where it went in the near future. She knew it couldn’t last forever, but as long as things were like this for a while, she was okay with that.

Lapis unlocked the door to her apartment, stepping inside with a small blink of confusion. Something wasn’t right in the house; a chair was out that she’d sworn she tucked in, the blinds were open even though she clearly remembered closing them, and, most worryingly, the light of the spare room was on with some of the yellow glow filtering in from underneath the door. Immediately suspecting that somebody had broken in, the blue gem swallowed dryly and grabbed the nearest weapon - an umbrella she kept by the door. Wielding the object like a bat, she cautiously approached the door, pressing her ear against the wood to listen - sure enough, something was rustling, perhaps hanging something up on the wall. Prepared to attack, she slowly opened the door…

“Hey, Lazuli! Welcome back!”

A very familiar small green gem was standing on the bed, taping a Camp Pining Hearts poster just above the headboard. She had made some changes to the room, mainly just personalizing it, and the moment Lapis got over her surprise at seeing her there, she threw the umbrella aside with an annoyed huff. She didn’t know how Peridot had gotten in, nor  _ why _ she was there and  _ why _ she was hanging up posters and spreading her crap around the spare bedroom of  _ Lapis’ _ apartment. One thing was certain; she really, really didn’t want the younger alien here, even if they had somewhat worked past their differences and become friends back at the barn. Living with her there had been hard enough.

“What are you doing here?,” she demanded, not particularly caring if she sounded rude or unwelcoming - that was kind of the idea. She didn’t want Peridot to be here, and she had the sneaking feeling that the younger gem would be spending a  _ lot _ of time in  _ her _ apartment. The ocean gem could only pray that she wasn’t going to be the ‘wacky roommate’ of her city life equation.

“Oh, there was an accident with some machinery at the barn,” Peridot explained with a shrug, taping up the last corner of the poster and jumping so that she landed in a sitting position on the bed. “Greg got upset with me because it’s his family barn or something, and Steven suggested that I come here to live with you. He gave me his spare key and helped me pack some of the stuff he gave me, so here I am! Ta-da!” She gestured around to the room with wide arms, a grin on her face that Lapis kind of wanted to slap off - she refrained, though, not willing to cause physical harm over her own frustrations. “We’re going to be roommates, and it’s going to be great! I’ll leave you alone most of the time, but we can do all sorts of friend stuff together, and you can show me around the city! And maybe I could help you out at work sometimes, if you need it, or just keep you company!”

Lapis’ eye twitched, and when she spoke she put effort into making it emotionless. “Steven never talked to me about this.” Wasn’t that kind of required before you sent somebody to live with somebody else? The kid meant well, and Peridot seemed very enthusiastic about this whole thing, but she had never been approached about it - and that honestly made her annoyance even worse. Couldn’t the green gem have just stayed in the temple for a little while so that everything could be sorted out? There were a couple of nice apartments next door to her, she wouldn’t mind having Peridot as a  _ neighbor _ \- but the idea of having her stay in her own space and mooch off her income was making her skin crawl.

“Well, he tried to call, but you were at work,” Peridot shrugged, looking up at her with the most hopeful eyes that Lapis had ever seen - which was already starting to make her heart melt, stars damn it. “I promise I won’t cause any trouble! I’ll even find a job so I can help pay the rent, and I’ll do half the chores, and I’ll make sure nothing bad happens when you’re at work! And I really want to live with you, because I think we can become even  _ better _ friends and I really wanna spend time with you.”

The blue gem watched her for a second, but she melted under the pleading expression rather easily. Defeated, she let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her temples - hopefully, the green gem would be a decent person to live with and she wouldn’t be annoyed by her the rest of her life. “Alright, alright,” she reluctantly spoke, leaning against the doorframe with a tired look on her face. “You can live here. But please make sure you don’t make a big mess of the apartment, or disturb the peace and get us evicted, or bother me constantly. As long as you keep to yourself most of the time, we should be fine.” She knew that her words were probably going in one ear and out the other; Peridot was a social being, as she had learned through her time in the barn, and it was unlikely that Lapis would be truly alone during the younger gem’s time in her apartment. Maybe she could find some machinery for her roommate to tinker with; that would probably keep her occupied.

Peridot made a small happy noise and bolted forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Lapis - the older gem tensed in her hold, but she did gently pat her head. She wasn’t used to such sudden physical contact, and she wasn’t entirely sure whether she liked it. “Oh man, Lazuli, this is gonna be great! We’re gonna have a great time living together, I promise!” She pulled away, an enthusiastic grin spreading across her face. Lapis was a little flattered that she had been the one to cause such a smile, but for the most part she was still disgruntled at having had a roommate thrust upon her with so little warning. She supposed she’d have to get used to it, considering while she was still living in Delmarva, Steven had never really stopped exclaiming how she was an honorary Crystal Gem and a member of the family now. She only hoped that more people wouldn’t be coming to live with her.

“As long as you don’t cause any trouble, I’m sure everything will go fine,” she replied coldly, a small frown on her face - she supposed, as she thought about it more, she really didn’t mind the idea of having Peridot live with her. She only wished that the situation had been discussed with her more beforehand; if she ended up messaging Steven tonight, she would have to have a serious talk with the boy over what was helpful and what wasn’t, and about respecting other people’s boundaries. He wasn’t horribly good at that, and unfortunately, that was a trait that Peridot was starting to pick up on - which was something that just wouldn’t slide if they had to live together. Lapis needed to be alone more often than not, and she had more than a few concerns.

“Just give me a little while to get used to having you in the house,” she spoke calmly, gently pulling herself out of Peridot’s grasp. “I’ve been living alone for a couple of months, so it’s going to be really weird having a roommate. And I wasn’t exactly given much time to mentally prepare myself for your arrival.” Her explanation probably seemed half assed and a sorry excuse to lock herself away in her room, for which she kicked herself internally - there was no way Peridot would ever be able to understand her need for peace and quiet, given how she had been raised in a noisy environment on a busy planet and was thrown right into the life of the Crystal Gems afterward.

Surprisingly to Lapis, though, the younger gem nodded enthusiastically. “Of course! I expected that it might take you some time to adjust to having me around again. Take as much time to be alone as you need! I’m going to try to set up some WiFi, so that’ll probably keep me busy for a while and I’ll be right there if you need me.”

Lapis was tempted to ask what the heck a WiFi was, but honestly, she was too tired to actually care. She gave her roommate a nod and a tense smile, spinning on her heel in order to leave the room.

She had no idea how she was supposed to deal with this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis is a little bit gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long!!!!!!! i've been having a few issues

The sidewalk was a little more crowded walking to work at the beginning of her shift, and the cafe was also far more busy than the latter half of her time there due to people rushing in to get their after school or after walk coffees and treats. It would be easy to get lost in the massive river of humans rushing home from work or sprinting to some social function; that was her reasoning whenever she looked back to make sure that Peridot was still in her sights. It wasn’t like it would be very difficult to seek out a little green gremlin with triangular blonde hair, but Lapis didn’t particularly feel like getting in trouble for losing her roommate less than twenty four hours after she moved in.

“Hey, Lazuli!,” Peridot’s voice piped up when she was directly behind the older gem, making her jump harshly and grasp at her chest where a heart should be. “Thanks for letting me come to work with you! I’ve never actually been in a building where humans find employment. I think this will be a really interesting learning experience, don’t you?” Wide and hopeful green eyes stared up at her, their owner’s mouth stretched into a friendly grin, and momentarily Lapis questioned how she could find something so adorable so irritating.

“Eh. It’s not really that interesting,” Lapis shrugged as she turned, walking down the sidewalk leading up to the cafe where she worked. “Really simple tasks, boss yelling at you to get some work done, stuff like that. It’s a little bit like working under the Diamond Authority with a lower level job.” She hesitated slightly about halfway down the sidewalk, unsure whether to lead Peridot through the main entrance or go through the employees only door - the second option would get the younger gem in trouble and possibly get her out of Lapis’ hair for the day, the other would possibly result in humans cornering her and asking all sorts of weird questions.

But wouldn’t she get lost trying to find her way back to the apartment? It was only her first full day in the city, after all. And even if she were to stick around in front of the cafe, there was a very real possibility that her naivete would get her in serious trouble. As much as the ocean gem loathed to admit it, she really didn’t want anything bad to happen to Peridot - there was a very large part of her that  _ did _ care for the other as a friend, and Steven would be on her case immediately if he went more than a week without hearing from her, anyway. 

So Lapis sighed heavily, pushing open the front door from the cafe and holding it open for her roommate as the welcoming bell dinged overhead. Luckily, the shop wasn’t all that crowded, just a couple of patrons; a homeless man that could be regularly seen handing in coupons for free coffee and a woman with her child. Mainly out of necessity, Lapis gave a small polite smile to each before steering Peridot to a single person booth in the corner and taking her spot behind the counter.

It was a slow morning, thankfully, which gave the ocean gem plenty of time to keep an eye on her roommate and make sure she didn’t get into any trouble. Much to Lapis’ relief, Peridot seemed to behave herself, staying seated for most of the first couple of hours and looking around - she didn’t understand why the younger found everything so fascinating, but she supposed that her habit of memorizing her surroundings completely was good for keeping her busy.

Unfortunately, around the third hour of her shift, Peridot skipped over to the counter while Lapis was in the middle of making a coffee. Her guard was down, so suddenly looking up and finding her roommate’s face a little too close to hers. She squealed in surprise and jerked back, nearly spilling the cup and getting a dirty look from the customer - face beginning to flush a darker blue, she finished preparing the drink with a fairly sullen expression. “You need to learn about this thing called personal space,” she grumbled in a tone that only the other gem should be able to hear.

“Sorry, I just wanted to check up on how you’re doing,” Peridot responded, tilting her head and watching Lapis with bright green eyes. The older of the two would never admit to the way her heart started to pound just a little bit harder under her roommate’s gaze - she told herself that it was because the younger gem had startled her, that was all. “I can’t really tell, because I have no basis to judge on, but it looks like you’re really good at your job! What’s the appeal of this stuff to humans, though? It looks a little bit gross, even if it does smell nice.”

“Thanks,” Lapis responded in a tone that completely lacked amusement, putting the lid on the cup and handing it to the impatient woman in front of the counter. “I think humans like it because it’s filled with caffeine, which gives them an extra burst of energy to get through their day. They need rest, but the coffee helps them go a little longer without it. That, and it actually does taste pretty good.” She hesitated then, observing the former technician’s curious face for a couple of moments before sighing heavily. “I can buy you a cup so you can try it, if you want.”

Peridot nodded enthusiastically, and Lapis had to wonder how she had gone from being completely pissed off about the other moving in with her to actually buying and making coffee for her in less than twenty four hours. She rolled her eyes slightly as she put a couple of dollars into the cash register and turned to the machine, deciding with a little bit of reluctance to make a cappuccino - that was an okay starter drink, right? It wasn’t like it would add any more energy to the gem’s form and result in her jumping off the walls no matter what she picked in the first place.

Probably, anyway. Caffeine had never really rejuvenated Lapis all that much, but she supposed that might have been because she was more than a little dead inside to begin with. Based off of the expression on Peridot’s face, though, she supposed that spending a couple of dollars on something that wasn’t really necessary was worth it - she seemed so excited to be trying something new and relating to Earth, and if the ocean gem was being honest with herself, it was adorable.

Once she’d finished the drink and handed it off to the green gem, she was even more certain that it had been worth it - Peridot seemed to enjoy human caffeine an excessive amount, and she seemed to be pacified for the moment as she sat back down in her booth and drank the cappuccino eagerly.

Lapis didn’t even realize that she had been staring until the human that had just approached the counter cleared their throat impatiently. She quickly turned back to her station, a blush burning across her face as if she’d been caught doing something dirty as she listened to the customer’s order.

* * *

 

Because Lapis didn’t need rest and seemed to get stressed out the slowest of all her coworkers, she always somehow wound up working extremely long shifts; she didn’t mind, really, as her apartment could get a little expensive and the more pay the better, but she was always exhausted by the time she walked home in the night lights of the city. It wasn’t all that late - ten o’clock, perhaps - but she was certain she would be considering a nap if that wasn’t a surefire way to have a nightmare.

Peridot seemed to be chipper, at least, walking alongside her with a bounce in her step and occasionally trying to make some sort of small talk. Lapis would respond, of course, but always with simple one sentence answers; she wasn’t particularly in the mood for a full conversation, so most topics just withered up and died within a couple of minutes of their creation. About halfway through the walk back to the apartment, both gems were silent; the younger was looking around in wonder at all of the tall buildings and glimmering lights, and the older was simply focused on making her way home.

It took until they were in the apartment and the door had been shut for Peridot to speak again, and when she did, it was a simple sentence; “I miss the stars.”

There was a small lurch in Lapis’ chest at the statement; it was true that the light pollution made it impossible to look up and see a night sky full of twinkling stars. It was so unlike at the barn, in the heart of the country without a soul for miles and with nothing but the expanse of sky above to shine through. She missed stargazing late at night too, but she had long accepted that it was probably better for her health to be unable to see them; it always made her homesick, which always made her long for something that was no longer there, which was never any good for anybody. 

“You’ll get used to not being able to see them, and if you ever go visit the barn, I guess that’ll be another nice thing for you to take advantage of,” she responded calmly, shifting her attire from her work uniform to her regular getup. “Maybe it’s better that they’re not visible from the city. I don’t know about you, but looking up and being able to search for Homeworld’s galaxy makes me nothing but homesick. Since neither of us can never go back, that can’t mean anything but sadness.” She shrugged slightly, walking across the room to a window that overlooked a fairly nice view of the city. Her apartment building was rather high up, hence why it cost so much every month, but it was worth every penny to be able to look out and know she was independent. “Besides, there are some pretty nice views here. The city is really pretty, even without a bunch of stars in the night sky.”

Peridot scampered over to join her, and needed to pull herself up slightly on the window ledge in order to see out. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she replied with a small sigh. “I have better things to do than laying around under the night sky getting sad about Homeworld, anyway. And the city  _ does _ look really nice at night. I guess I’ll have to get a day job, so I can get used to this and not miss the barn all the time, huh?”

Lapis smiled slightly before glancing over at her roommate, and would later be embarrassed by the way her breathing stopped and the world seemed to stand still.

The light from outside was hitting the younger gem in just the right way, the yellow glow complimenting her green skin nicely and making her look  _ beautiful _ as well as just  _ adorable. _ She had a small smile on her face, and there were practical stars in her eyes; she was more mellow than she usually was at the moment, evidently, but she was clearly enjoying the view out the window.

Unfortunately, she seemed to notice that Lapis was staring at her, because she turned her head and gave an inquisitive look. “What’s that expression for?,” she asked cautiously, a small frown on her face, and a dark blue blush immediately appeared across the ocean gem’s features. She immediately pushed herself away from the window, almost feeling like a cornered animal or like she had gotten caught doing something wrong, and her fight or flight instinct was settling in at an alarming rate.

“I’m going to go get some sleep because I’m exhausted,” she announced quickly and turned on her heel, dashing into her bedroom and slamming the door behind her. She immediately leaned against the wood and slid to the ground with her head in her hands, letting out a small groan.

Hopefully these… romantic-like feelings would fade in time. She didn’t think she’d be able to survive living with Peridot for long if they didn’t.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camp Pining Hearts isn't a bad way to bond if you think about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohhh man i'm so so so sorry about the delays depression is kicking my ass

Lapis didn’t normally have much of anything to do on her day off, so she had spent the better part of the morning watering the few plants she kept around the apartment and helping Peridot apply for jobs online. The younger gem was very adamant and determined about helping to pay the rent and get ahold of extra luxuries despite the older assuring her that it wasn’t necessary and she was handling the income just fine. She supposed it wouldn’t really be awful to need to work less, so once the former technician had gotten their WiFi up and working, she had done her best to assist with the application process - it had been much easier to just walk up to the counter and ask, in her opinion.

By the time one o’clock rolled around, Peridot had applied to be tech support at four different companies, including some prestigious company downtown that she would need to take a bus to and Geek Squad at Best Buy. She met all the credentials, it was her lack of experience that would probably be a problem; Lapis tried to talk her into smaller jobs to start with, but the green gem was stubborn and stuck to what she had originally planned. The ocean gem supposed it was good and fine for her to be optimistic, so she didn’t fight her too much.

She wasn’t all that surprised when she walked out of her room and heard the theme song of Camp Pining Hearts coming from Peridot’s computer; she was mainly just curious about how she had managed to get the television show running without using one of the many, many tapes and DVDs that Steven had tucked away in the barn. Lapis didn’t exactly mind the sappy romance series, but she had never actually sat down and watched it… and she supposed that she could try, for the sake of bonding with her roommate or understanding what she was talking about when she pulled out a relationship chart.

“We don’t have a television,” she commented flatly as she sat on the couch next to the younger gem, glancing at Percy and Pierre in one of their few onscreen interactions. “How did you get Camp Pining Hearts? I didn’t notice you even bringing the DVDs along.” She supposed it was probably some extension of Earth technology that she hadn’t previously known about; Lapis wasn’t exactly a hundred percent in tune with how much humanity had developed since the war, knowing mainly the basics that she could figure out in the time she spent working with and living around them.

Peridot put her hand in front of the older gem’s face, completely enraptured by what was happening onscreen. Watching her face was all the entertainment that Lapis supposed she would need for the next several decades; when she was focused on something, she put all of her energy into paying attention and clinging to every little detail, and it was immensely adorable if the ocean gem was being honest with herself. She didn’t look up and reply until Percy and Pierre had parted from each other, and when she did, it was in a tone that was only half focused and with her eyes flitting back to the computer as she spoke. “Steven showed me the ‘Netflix’ while I was in the temple before I came here. You can watch television shows with it right on the computer if you have access to the ‘Internet!’” She gestured to the still playing show, giving Lapis a wide grin. “There are all sorts of movies, too! Would you like to sit down and join me? We can keep watching Camp Pining Hearts or put on something else.”

The ocean gem hesitated before nodding, turning her attention to the screen. Honestly, she didn’t care much for the show - Peridot had tried several times when they were still in the barn to get her involved in her nightly ritual of watching it until the sun came up - but she had found that morning that she really did enjoy spending time with her roommate… and that, for some odd reason, she got the oddest feeling in her chest whenever she looked at her. Often accompanied by the urge to pull her close and hold her; she’d had feelings like this while in the barn, but they were normally trampled under annoyance, and now that the constant aggravation was gone and replaced by peace, Lapis found that her old feelings of affection had resurfaced, but stronger.

A human phrase regarding spending time apart from someone came to mind. ‘Distance makes the heart grow fonder,’ or something like that - she supposed it wasn’t really applicable, since she technically didn’t  _ have _ a heart, but she still supposed it was the most reasonable explanation. She’d spent time away from Peridot, and her romantic feelings - which she previously could have easily ignored - had resurfaced upon living with her again. And strongly.

“I don’t understand why they do that,” Peridot spoke after roughly an hour of watching Camp Pining Hearts, gesturing towards the screen, where Paulette and Percy were kissing rather intensely. Lapis didn’t particularly mind watching fictional couples being romantically involved, and glancing at the younger gem told her that she either felt differently or genuinely didn’t get romantic actions. “It doesn’t help them work harder at all! It just hinders Percy from being the best he can be. Don’t they get that Paulette is holding him back from his full potential? Does this lip contact suck souls?”

“No,” Lapis responded with a snort, honestly amused by the question directed her way. “Kissing is the way to show somebody that you feel very deeply about them, romantically. Or it can be a way for people to have fun or seduce each other or something like that. It’s one of the more enjoyable human rituals, in my opinion.” She leaned back against the backing of the couch, a small smile on her face. “Romantic attraction is when looking at somebody makes your chest swell and it makes you want to hold them and protect them for the rest of your life. When all you want is to be beside them and love them for all eternity, help them be happy and safe and be beside them forever. Some refer to it as being ‘in love,’ others think it’s just some instinct meant for procreation. I personally think it’s the prior.”

Peridot blinked, watching her carefully as she explained before resting one hand on her chest and glancing away, mouth set in a little ‘m’ of a frown as she thought. “Have you ever felt this…  _ in love _ before, Lazuli?” she asked, turning slightly in order to look Lapis up and down - the older gem wasn’t sure why, but her cheeks heated up a darker blue than the rest of her body underneath her roommate’s scrutinizing gaze. “Or are you  _ in love _ right now, maybe?”

The ocean gem was mildly annoyed at having been put on the spot like that and looked away, puffing out her cheeks and blushing thickly.  _ Was _ she? She didn’t know if she could quite define her feelings as  _ in love, _ as she had only been in direct daily contact with Peridot again for about two days, but… it was certainly stronger than most passing attractions she had experienced. “... Maybe,” was her slow response as she glanced away, fiddling with the bottom of her skirt for several moments and trying to sort out her thoughts before turning back to her roommate. “Are  _ you?” _

Much to her surprise, Peridot blushed a bright turquoise and looked away, taking off her visor and lightly rubbing at the glass-like material with her thumb with a small frown on her face. She was almost pleasantly surprised by the reaction - perhaps she shared these feelings? “... Maybe. I think I may have been since before we were stranded on Earth. I’m not sure, though. Having them explained is new to me.” She shrugged and her blush deepened. “I will… need time to think on it.”

Lapis snorted slightly, though part of her quietly considered that  _ she _ must have been the one that the younger was apparently enamored with. Or… perhaps it was Jasper? She shuddered at the thought, brushing a hand through her hair - she really hoped not, she didn’t think she could handle that. “That’s fair,” she said anyway, reaching over to lightly flick her roommate’s nose. “Let me know when you’ve sorted those feelings out though, alright? I’m curious about who could possibly be worthy of being the object of the  _ great and lovable Peridot’s _ affections.”

Peridot scoffed and batted her hand away, blush deepening and spreading. “I’m sure you’ll find out eventually whether I tell you or not!” she blurted, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting slightly. “That’s a disadvantage of living with somebody! You’re never lonely, but they somehow always figure out your secrets!” She then bunched in on herself, grumbling slightly as she returned her attention to the sappy romance on the television. “Especially when it’s somebody pretty and strong.”

The older gem blinked, surprised, before her face heated up once more. She honestly hadn’t been expecting that, but… she supposed she was more pleased than upset with this revelation. Before they landed, though? She’d been so bitter towards Peridot then, dragging her back to Earth and questioning her and using her as a tool - she hadn’t expected that the other might have been experiencing some sort of romantic attraction. Hell, she hadn’t been aware that modern gems were capable of it. Instead of embarrassing the younger with some sort of comment, though, she scoffed. “Stars, I know,” she responded, rolling her eyes slightly. “Secrets are hard to keep when you don’t live alone. I bet you’ll know the entirety of my backstory all the way through by the time a year’s gone by.” Quietly, she reminded herself that she was supposed to be annoyed with this situation and insisting on it being temporary, but most of her had calmed down from that salt and was okay with everything.

The former technician’s eyes lit up and she straightened, watching Lapis with a hopeful expression that threatened to melt her heart for the second time in twenty four hours. “Really?” she asked, as though learning the past of a traitor was some huge accomplishment that she would never be able to get over. It was… flattering.

“I was joking,” the ocean gem responded, and almost felt bad about the way that the younger’s face fell. “But, if it makes you feel better, when you sort out your feelings and tell me who you care about I’ll tell you mine.” That seemed to help, as her roommate perked up once more with a tiny grin that almost made Lapis laugh. Peridot was… a delight to watch, as much as she didn’t want to admit it; she was a very expressive gem, absolutely nothing like she’d been not that long ago.

“That does make me feel better,” the green gem responded happily before glancing back at the computer; she almost seemed a little overwhelmed when Paulette approached Percy, and quickly closed the cover of the laptop before they could begin their interaction with a bit of a sour look on her face. “Ugh, now I dislike them even more! Percy and Pierre would be much better romantically as well as technically! Paulette only holds him back, and I don’t think that’s a good romantic dynamic!”

“You’re right,” Lapis responded with a shrug, though she was mildly concerned that the human device might have been broken by the force with which it was closed. “A good relationship should consist of both members helping each other move forward and become better versions of themselves.” She hadn’t been involved romantically with Jasper in the least, but she supposed that could be used as an example of a bad relationship if she ever needed one. She grimaced slightly as she thought on it before tucking it away in the back of her mind. “Though I don’t think it’s really Paulette holding Percy back, it’s more… Percy holding Percy back. He’s letting himself get distracted by thoughts of his girlfriend. That’s not really her fault, more his. They could make a good couple if he’d chill out.”

“Ugh! I don’t want to argue with you about Camp Pining Hearts and the many relationship dynamics! You need to watch all the episodes before you have solid theories!” Peridot quickly thrust the laptop into Lapis’ arms before quickly jumping to her feet. “Thank you for explaining, though, Lazuli. I’m going to go into my room and reorganize a little.”

“You’ve only been here two days.”

“Rearranging things never hurts!”

Before Lapis could open her mouth to speak again, her roommate had dashed off out of the room and slammed a door. She snorted slightly and opened up the device, glancing at the paused episode on the screen. Sighing heavily, she clicked play.

Having something to talk about probably couldn’t hurt.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot makes plans, and Lapis reflects on her feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyyy this is almost done

Peridot did, in fact, have romantic feelings for Lapis. She had since they were on the ship and they had only strengthened since she learned what these emotions were all about. Sitting in her room with her ear pressed against the door, listening to the familiar dialogue of Camp Pining Hearts through the wood, she was only beginning to realize how much potential they could have when it came to an actual romantic relationship. She could help Lapis heal, begin to recover from all the trauma she had been through in the last five thousand years, make her smile and laugh. Lapis could help Peridot understand, keep her safe and make sure that she could handle herself and would never be left to fend for herself like those grueling months she spent running from the Crystal Gems (because  _ that _ had definitely helped her keep her original goal going in the end). They were stuck on Earth with much the same situation; if nothing else, that was one thing they had in common.

And she was a little - okay, a lot - touched that her roommate was watching her favorite show. She was under no obligation to; Peridot had merely suggested it, and Lapis had gone along with it. A smile appeared on the green gem’s face as she listened; Lapis didn’t seem to be scoffing at it so far, and if she’d gotten up and walked away while leaving the video playing then Peridot would have heard her footsteps or her wings being summoned. She was really, genuinely trying to do something that her roommate would relate to, and that was awfully sweet of her if the former technician did say so herself! Internally, she promised herself that she would do something to return the favor - maybe when she had made a little bit of money, she would be able to buy a new plant for her roommate.

With a very self satisfied and smug grin, the green gem walked over to her bed and plopped into a laying position, turning over in order to grab onto her beloved tablet - ever faithful, it sat ready next to the “phone” that Steven had given her shortly before she moved here. Apparently, somebody would be calling her on that if they wanted her to come in for an ‘interview’ so she could get a job, but for now she just wanted to Cheep about how successful her day had been. It was worthy of a one hundred and forty character celebration for the surprisingly large amount of followers she had gathered!

“TODAY I SPENT TIME WITH MY ROOMMATE WHILE SHE WAS AT WORK!!! THE HUMAN "COFFEE" IS RATHER ENJOYABLE. AND SHE'S WATCHING CAMP PINING HEARTS!!” she typed out easily, a little disappointed in how little she could express with the limited amount of letters she was allowed but readily pressing the button to post it nonetheless with a small self satisfied giggle. Of course, that left the question of what she could do for the rest of the night!

Peridot sat on her bed with her chin in one hand, looking out at the lights of the city as she thought. She could probably do something for Lapis, since the blue gem was going to watch her favorite show; something that would make her roommate happy for a little while. But she didn’t really know what Lapis  _ liked! _ She was very withdrawn and seemed to have very few hobbies, and even though they’d lived together and gotten to know each other for a while in the barn and for the day in this apartment, Peridot had been unable to observe any passions that the older had. She didn’t even like  _ water, _ for stars’ sake, and water was the big connection between all lazuli gems! What they were made for!

But, right, this was Earth. So what they were made for didn’t mean anything. Sure, Peridot still loved technology even though that was what she’d been created to handle, but she hadn’t had bad experiences to alienate her from things like her tablet. Lapis had been left to suffer in Malachite at the bottom of the ocean for months on end. She supposed if she was trapped in some technical thing during a battle of the wills with somebody she hated, she wouldn’t want to have much of anything to do with her tech either. So she had to figure something else out!

She  _ had _ noticed that Lapis had some plants around the apartment and seemed to mostly enjoy being alone unless she approached somebody first. So something involving plants and a place where she could be alone and get some peace and quiet… like her bedroom! Yes, Peridot could probably decorate her bedroom a bit, make it minimalist and very plant-y. Maybe she’d do it while her roommate was at work and she had the apartment all to herself! Of course, she would have to ask and make sure it was okay, because as much as surprises could be exciting the last thing she wanted was to overstep boundaries and make Lapis upset. She supposed she would wait until the morning and then ask her permission, and if she said okay she’d spend the day reorganizing!

Satisfied with her plan, Peridot turned quickly back towards the room, using her metal powers to summon her tablet into her hands and quickly do research on decor ideas. She might as well know what she was doing when she went into it.

* * *

 

Camp Pining Hearts wasn’t a  _ bad _ show by any means, but it was… very repetitive and a little tiring when one watched seven episodes in a row over the course of two and a half hours. Lapis yawned, rubbing her eyes and stretching - she was making an effort to watch through the whole series for her roommate’s sake, but it was practically putting herself to sleep at this point. The redheaded girl named Paulette cried too much, the blonde boy named Percy tried too hard to make her feel better, and the brunet boy named Pierre who Peridot was so adamant about very rarely showed up onscreen. The cinematography was nice, she supposed, and the acting wasn’t horrible, and the soundtrack was nice. She supposed it was mainly the writing that was the problem.

She sighed heavily, letting the back of her head rest on the back of the couch and staring behind her at the city outside. Everything was so calm for such a heavily populated and busy place. She could appreciate that; everyone mostly minded their own business. She’d never really realized how lonely she was despite the massive amount of humans around her and how full of life Empire City always was; she’d been living all by herself for so long, accidentally isolating herself with her cynicism and asocial ways. Now Peridot lived with her again, and as much as she’d been annoyed at first, she now appreciated it immensely. She wasn’t alone anymore; she had her little green friend around, and that was strangely comforting. If she needed help, there was somebody around; if she wanted to talk, she wouldn’t have to figure out how to use a ‘phone’ and call Steven. She just needed to say something.

It was her romantic feelings towards Peridot that complicated things, really. She thought the younger gem was adorable and funny and smart. She wanted to be there for her, help her out and make sure she had support. That alone wouldn’t be a big problem, as those were normal friend feelings, but it was the urge to wrap her arms around the smaller gem and hold her and kiss her certainly put a damper on things. She didn’t know if she’d classify that as being  _ in love, _ but it was certainly something, and that something wasn’t going to leave her alone anytime soon.

How would she even go about  _ confessing _ that? She knew that she couldn’t keep it a secret, but she genuinely had no idea how to talk about romance, probably because she had absolutely no experience with  _ actual _ romance. She’d only felt the attraction itself once or twice, and she’d been too young and too thoroughly under Homeworld’s thumb that it had been unknown to her at the time, so no confession had actually been needed. How was she supposed to talk to somebody she lived with and considered a friend about romantic feelings?

She supposed it could wait until after work. She had the same shift as usual, starting early and ending late, so she had most of the day to think about it instead of having long and drawn out conversations with annoying human customers (a nod and smile could do most of the time, after all, and if she was distracted there wouldn’t be the anxiety of trying to think of a response). It might be easier to talk to Peridot then, too, because she’d have some time away from her to think. Maybe that was why she never noticed when they were living in the barn. She didn’t have a job then, or any sort of escape from the younger gem; she would’ve been too desensitized to know.

Maybe leaving the barn was a  _ bad _ idea, then; she loved Empire City and was settled in, but her life would be so much easier without all these pesky emotions refusing to give her a moment of peace. She sighed heavily, turning her attention back to the screen and trying to focus on the human entertainment to distract her. She probably needed to stop pushing everything aside for later.

Lapis didn’t even notice that it was early in the morning until Peridot hopped on the couch next to her with a big grin that might have been a little concerning if it was on any face besides Peridot’s. “Good morning, Lazuli!” she quipped cheerfully, reaching to take the computer from her and closing the top. “I’m impressed with how long you stayed focused on Camp Pining Hearts! Well, not  _ surprised, _ because it is the most brilliant thing that humans have come up with in their hundreds of thousands of years on this planet, but impressed nonetheless! Um, do you have work soon?”

The ocean gem blinked and quickly glanced out the window; the sun was rising, as evidenced by the orangey glow on the buildings. That meant that her shift was probably starting soon, and so she quickly got up off the couch, shifting her clothing to match her work uniform. “Yeah, I do. Are you going to be okay alone all day?” she asked with a small amount of concern, frowning at her roommate. Okay, she did feel a little bad about leaving the younger gem on her own all day, considering she hadn’t been living in the city very long. “You won’t wander off and get lost, right?”

“No! Not unless I’m called in for a sudden interview, of course,” Peridot responded, still seeming very cheerful. “I’m going to stay here all day. Which reminds me - um, I kind of want to do something nice for you since you’ve been so nice about letting me stay here and you’re watching my favorite show for me. So would it be okay if I reorganize and redecorate your bedroom for you? I just wanted to ask first to make sure I don’t make you upset by touching your things without permission.”

Lapis blinked, a little surprised by the offer, but nodded. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way her room looked, but it  _ was _ pretty bare because she didn’t have many belongings - so she didn’t really see the harm in letting Peridot go at it. She trusted the younger gem’s judgement for the most part. “I don’t see why not. Thanks for asking first, though.” She probably would have been upset if she came home and found everything moved around without having given permission, so she appreciated the question. “Oh, um, I need to talk to you after work, too. About personal stuff.”

Peridot seemed a little surprised and confused, but nodded nonetheless, her smile reappearing mere moments later. “Of course, Lazuli! I’m your roommate, and you can tell me anything!”

Lapis snorted slightly, but nodded and gently patted the younger’s head. “Yeah, I know. I’ll be back around sunset. Try not to break anything, okay?”

“Okay!”

And with that out of the way, the ocean gem walked out of the apartment and locked the door behind her. She leaned against the wood for just a moment with a small sigh, rubbing her temples and trying to get over the weird fluttering feeling where her stomach should be before straightening up and walking away in the direction of the cafe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kiss kiss fall in love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY, I FINISHED! this took way too long jesus christ
> 
> thank you for reading <333

When Lapis walked into the apartment after a long, long day of making coffee for grumpy humans, she was worried by the silence she was greeted by - she didn’t know why, but she’d been expecting to hear some noise to indicate the presence of Peridot in the house, since the younger gem seemed to have difficulty being quiet and chilling out. Nervously, the ocean gem flicked the lightswitch in order to flicker the lights to life, taking a few more steps into the residence and closing the door behind her. She looked around for any evidence of harm coming to the younger gem or any of her belongings, and all she found was a note written in gemlish on the table.

“HEY LAZULI, HAD TO GO TO AN INTERVIEW AT THE STORE “BEST” “BUY”! I’LL BE BACK SOON! YOUR ROOM IS FINISHED, I HOPE YOU LIKE IT! - PERIDOT.” She blinked slightly, surprised by the excessive use of capital letters, but put down the letter with a relieved sigh nonetheless and turned her attention to her bedroom door. Hopefully the younger gem would be able to find her way back okay; Lapis would probably go out and look for her if she didn’t in the next hour, but for the moment she supposed she could trust her.

The ocean gem walked over to the door and slowly opened it, blinking with surprise at how the room seemed different and yet similar. Before, it had been mostly bare; there was a bed that usually went untouched, an ottoman by the window that she frequently spent her time staring out at the city in, a desk she had nothing to put on, some plants that remained scattered with no particular order, rhyme, or reason to why they sat the way they did. Peridot hadn’t done much to the room, really; she’d moved the desk so that it was in one corner of the room, made the bed, rearranged her plants so that they had a slightly more aesthetically pleasing look against the plain walls of the room. Some pictures were now hung up across the far wall, the one that the headboard of her bed was touching; a couple of the paintings she’d done that had previously been stored in the room that was now Peridot’s, a couple of old pictures of herself and her roommate that had been taken back at the barn,

Her bedroom was simultaneously the same and different. The only things that had been added were the pictures on the wall, but the rearrangements made everything look… better. More like a home. Lapis took a couple more steps inside, looking around and…  _ appreciating _ that Peridot would want to do this for her. A smile appeared on the blue gem’s face as she carefully ran her fingers along the paper surface of the printed pictures, affection swelling in her chest a bit the longer she thought about Peridot. Damn it, she really had it bad, and that only made her more afraid to talk to the younger gem about these overwhelming romantic feelings.

Maybe she could put it off even longer? Wait until Peridot had been living with her for a week and then confess then? No, that would be such a cowardly thing to do, she would never be able to face the younger gem if the tension kept building up. She would have to admit to her romantic attraction as soon as her roommate got home, just as she had been planning to do all day. Right! She had a plan on what to do and say as soon as the green extraterrestrial walked in the door. A plan that would end up saving her skin and would preserve the friendship even if the feelings weren’t reciprocated and she had been totally wrong about assuming they were and things started getting awkward between them.

Stars, why was she even doubting that her feelings might be reciprocated? Her roommate had openly admitted that she’d been having a romantic attraction to her crush since the ship, and unless she was talking about that unlovable brute of a quartz soldier, it had to be her. Unless it was for some undoubtedly logical reasons, she seriously doubted she would be rejected tonight.

Maybe it was because she hadn’t really devoted herself to a romantic relationship before, and because the last relationship she had been a part of that wandered anywhere close to that territory and was intimate enough to even consider that it might have been… she shuddered. Malachite was bad. Malachite was toxic. She had been manipulated while that was going on - and both she and Jasper had been hurt and traumatized. Part of her, a part that she desperately wanted to shut up already, was afraid that initiating a relationship with Peridot would lead to the same horrible, horrible conclusion. Most of her, though, knew that she had learned from the experience, and that she wouldn’t let it happen again.

The last thing she wanted, after all, was to hurt Peridot in any way. If she did anything ever again that caused even a little bit of unhappiness in the younger gem, she would never forgive herself - she’d been bad enough in the beginning of their friendship and their first time living together, when she refused to let herself forgive her roommate and broke the most meaningful gift that could have been given to her. The ocean gem groaned; maybe she really was too awful for any sort of intimate relationship with another gem to work out well.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t try, right? She could grow from her experiences and use what she’d learned not to do to make this relationship successful. Peridot meant too much to her to get anything but her best, and the ocean gem was determined to be the best romantic partner that had ever walked the face of the Earth. Was she overthinking things? Maybe, but damn if she wasn’t convincing herself that things could go well if she put some effort into it.

Interrupting her train of thought, though, was the opening of the apartment door. Almost immediately, the ocean gem completely tensed and all the thinking she had been doing left her mind. Suddenly, she was terrified again and genuinely considering that maybe she could just put off her confession longer, that she could just wait until a  _ mildly _ more opportune time when she wasn’t completely freaked out about the possibility of starting a new relationship with somebody that had only been living with her for about forty eight hours. Maybe she could wait until they had both settled into this dynamic completely and both had lives outside of these apartment walls.

“Heyyyy, Lazuli!” Peridot announced her presence as she skipped into the room, and the ocean gem was deeply startled when her roommate suddenly wrapped her arms around her in a hug. Lapis gently patted the younger gem’s arm with a bit of a confused expression on her face before turning around to face her with a questioning look. “They were so impressed by my technological forte that they hired me! I have a job now! I can help pay for… whatever needs to be done around the apartment! Isn’t that great?” She looked so proud of herself and adorable, and it was honestly difficult not to smile.

“Yeah!” Lapis responded, making an effort towards sounding enthusiastic. The younger gem still had yet to remove herself from clinging to her front, so she gently rested her hands on Peridot’s head, trying very hard not to blush at the current situation. Said technician shifted her head in order to give her a small grin, and Lapis lost any headway in not blushing. “That’s awesome, Peri. I’m sure you’ll like getting to help humans with repairs and stuff. I’m happy for you.”

Her roommate made a squeaky little noise to show that she was pleased before glancing around the room, as if she’d completely forgotten what she’d done earlier. “Oh, that’s right! I finished your room while you were at work! Do you like it? I did lots of research on how I could rearrange things to make it look nicer and have more space, but I mostly just ended up moving the plants and desk and putting some pictures on the wall. I didn’t want to make too many changes, because I know you like it minimalist, and I know you’d probably get kind of upset with me if I removed or added anything.”

She talked a lot, didn’t she? Lapis couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, gently taking Peridot’s hands and pulling her to the ottoman by the window so they could sit down and have a conversation. Of course, her attention immediately diverted to the fact that she was holding her crush’s hands in her own, and that very quickly made her face turn a shade much darker than the rest of her skin. “I love it, Peridot. You did a really good job. I think it looks really nice and I might spend more time in here just so I can look around and appreciate that I have such an awesome roommate.”

The technician’s cheeks turned bright cyan, but she puffed her chest out in pride and a wide smile appeared on her face. “Good! I’m glad that my awesome roommate thinks that I’m an awesome roommate! And it’s really good that you like the room, too, I tried about three different looks when I was organizing everything.” Peridot then paused, looking around at her handiwork before turning back to Lapis, the blush spreading a little further across her face. “Oh, um, what did you want to talk about?”

Well, shit. How was she supposed to explain herself now? She didn’t have any ideas before Peridot got home, and she sure as hell didn’t have any now. The ocean gem hesitated, watching her roommate for a moment before turning to the window and staring out at the city, watching how busy the humans were despite it being sunset. Things barely calmed down in Empire City, and even at night only residential areas and around apartment complexes were calm. She continued to avoid eye contact, watching the cars roll by as she spoke. “Remember when we talked about romantic feelings and being in love? Well, I, uh, have romantic feelings for you. I don’t know if I’d say I’m  _ in love, _ it’s still too early to tell, but I certainly, um, want to hold you and help you and kiss you and be in a romantic relationship with you. I understand if you don’t feel the same way about me, but we live together and I figured that was something that shouldn’t be kept a secret. Since we live together and things would only get awkward if I avoided telling you for too long. I’ve felt this way since the barn, but I didn’t realize it.”

Peridot was silent. Worryingly silent, eyes wide and trained on Lapis as if she was trying to figure out what to say or how she felt about the confession. Unfortunately, the ocean gem’s rapidfire mind was already processing that as a bad thing - what if she was trying to figure out how to let her down gently? What if she was trying to figure out the most hurtful action she could take that would leave Lapis reeling for the next several weeks? What if she was considering going back to the temple and living in the bathroom or something instead of here? What if--?

“I feel the same way about you!”

Wait, what?

“I mean, I always knew that you were pretty and strong! On the ship I really admired you, but I had to pretend not to because you were my informant and romantic relationships are frowned upon on Homeworld and stuff. That’s why I was so stubborn at the barn when I was trying to get you to want to be my friend - I really had strong romantic feelings for you, even if I didn’t know what they were yet, and I wanted to impress you with how much I’ve learned and changed. And I’m really flattered! I would love to start a romantic relationship with you as long as that’s what you want, too!”

Lapis was trapped in stunned silence for several moments, simply staring at Peridot with a dark blush across her cheeks and a small smile on her face. It took her a while to figure out that she probably ought to respond, and when she did, it was simple. “Yes. Yes, I’d love to be in a romantic relationship with you.” A pause then. “Do you want to, um… kiss?”

The younger gem nodded enthusiastically, and the older gently cupped her cheek before doing something she’d wanted to for a long time without even realizing it until the other day. She closed the distance between them, connecting their lips in a simple kiss that sent fireworks going off in her heart - she was sure to keep it gentle and pure, but it did take her a minute or so to pull away; and when she did, the awestruck expression on her now girlfriend’s face was enough to make her snicker slightly.

She certainly hoped that her feelings would never fade, that she and Peridot would be together and be happy for a long time and that they would never dissolve into something horrible. Of course, most of her was sure that would happen - they were both learning, and neither of them was clueless.

This was going to be great, she believed.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments would be much appreciated!


End file.
